Removing the Yeast of the Pharisees

Thank God, as the 40-Day Fasting and Prayer began, the church has also launched the sermon series “Removing the Yeast of the Pharisees,” leading us to remove the yeast in our lives during this time of fasting. The conclusion of this fasting and prayer coincides perfectly with the Day of Atonement. All of this has not been pre-planned by us but is a wonderful leading by the Holy Spirit.

Looking back, God has led our church to preach the eight miracles performed by Jesus in John since June this year, allowing us to understand the true identity of Jesus Christ through these miracles, so that we can devote ourselves more in following Christ. One thing we need to beware of when following God is to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees. In Matthew 16, when Jesus asked His disciples who He was, Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.” Before this dialogue, Jesus specifically taught His disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, urging them to rid themselves of their teachings and mindsets. This shows us that to follow God and build the church, we must first cleanse our own lives.

It is generally difficult for us to admit that we are like Pharisees, but in reality, we all more or less have some yeast of the Pharisees within us, such as doubt, lack of love, upholding tradition, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and an appearance of godliness without true devotion. Do we, like the disciples, even after knowing God for a long time and experiencing miracles, allow the words of others, the voices of the world, or our own thought patterns to affect our faith, even doubting the leading of the Holy Spirit? In our church life, are we so preoccupied with our performance and status that we act differently before and behind people? Are we yes-man to our authority without facing our true feelings, and even criticize and judge behind their backs?

Dear brothers and sisters, may I encourage everyone to open our hearts during these forty days and wait for the Holy Spirit to shed light and open us up to see clearly which areas of our lives are influenced by the yeast of the Pharisees and confess our sins before God. We as priests and Levites need to examine our lives more closely before God, removing the yeast of the Pharisees one by one, so as to rekindle our love for God and for others!